Vienna Festival Ballet bring 30th anniversary production of Swan Lake to Chester & Nothwich

Mar 4 2010 Flintshire Chronicle

Swan Lake just doesn’t go away. Neither do the hoards of people who love to see it performed again and again.

Now ballet’s ultimate classic is back in Cheshire, performed by the ever popular Vienna Festival Ballet, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Its top-talented ranks of dancers include British, Australian and Italian soloists, dancers from the Royal Ballet School and guest stars from Japan.

Also with the company is VFB’s leading English ballerina, Melanie Cox, who has just recorded The Dying Swan for a new British film.

As one of the greatest love stories, Swan Lake is one of mankind’s most intense theatrical experiences. It stands alongside Romeo & Juliet but with a different twist because only the company producer decides if evil is to triumph over good – or the other way round.

Having been taken through the whole gamut of emotions, the audience cannot tell whether Prince Siegfried will perish for his love of swan-girl Odette, or whether sorcerer Baron Rothbart and his accomplice Odile, impersonating Odette, will pay for their trickery.

The final answer arrives to a shattering musical climax from Tchaikovsky.

BBC Radio 4’s Soul Music chose four big musical experiences to have affected people deeply. Swan Lake kicked the series off.

VFB is celebrated for the continued freshness of its dancing casts, and the strength of its corps – the flock of swans – is sure to be a highlight.

Another VFB strong suit is costumes. Swan Lake has the glamour of royalty, and the palace and lakeside sets enhance the experience.

Vienna Festival Ballet presents Swan Lake at the Memorial Hall in Northwich on Friday, March 5 at 7pm. Ring 01606 867539 for booking details.

The production then moves to the Hammond School in Chester on Thursday, March 11 at 7.30pm. Ring 01244 305362 for booking information.